U.S. men’s national team star striker Folarin Balogun will not be available for the World Cup round of 16 game vs. Belgium after getting a red card in the win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a U.S. Soccer spokesman confirmed.
Balogun, who scored in that 2-0 win, was sent off in the 64th minute of the second half by referee Rafael Claus after stepping on Bosnia and Herzegovina player Tarik Muharemović’s ankle.
A player who receives a red card is automatically dismissed for the rest of that match and must sit out the subsequent match.
That means the U.S. will be without its leading goalscorer at the tournament for a crucial match on Monday against Belgium in Seattle with a quarterfinals spot on the line.
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino has two other striker options in his squad: Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright. Expect either player to get the start with Balogun on the bench.
Pochettino could also go with a dual striker setup with both Pepi and Wright up top.
The other option could be a formation change where star forward Christian Pulisic plays more in a ‘false No. 9’ position where he’ll be even more involved in the attack.
